Practical discussion on contemporary life challenges from an ancient perspective.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

THE INCOMPARABLE GOD

“Who is a God like You,removing
iniquity and passing over rebellionfor the
remnant of His inheritance?He does not hold on to His anger forever,because He delights in faithful love.” (Micah 7:18 HCSB)

The name, Micah, means, “Who is like
God?”From the moment, Micah, as a baby
was named, throughout his days on earth, each time his name was called, this
rhetorical question was pondered over and again.The answer, of course, is that there is none
like God—He is incomparable!

How fitting that this man should grow
up to be one of God’s spokesmen, and have the incredible privilege of
proclaiming this incomparable Person.It
is the theme of his prophecy and this main point is driven home in the closing
verses, “Who is a God like You?” (7:18a)

We are reminded of GOD’S INCOMPARABLE
CHARACTER.

“Who is a God like You,removing
iniquity and passing over rebellionfor the
remnant of His inheritance?He does not hold on to His anger forever,because He delights in faithful love.” (Micah 7:18 HCSB)

We
have all met men of good character.They
are rare, but we know them.Hopefully, we
are striving to be one.But, that
goodness is relative compared with other frail, failing human beings.Not so the character of God!It is incomparable.He is flawless.God is incapable of considering or committing
wrong.There is no standard we can
compare Him to, for He is the standard of all that is good.

Just
look at the greatness of the goodness of God that Micah presents in this text.The prophet is overwhelmed that this
infinitely holy God will remove iniquity.He can reach down to a sinner and clean him or her up, without being
contaminated by that sin Himself.

God
can be fully just and yet still justify those who ought to be condemned for
their rebellion against Him.Indeed, He
reconciles the rebel unto Himself and establishes peace with God.God takes His foes and turns them to friends.

The
righteous indignation that erupts against evil is expressed, but then set
aside.His character demands that sin be
punished, but God’s character is such that He also delights in saving sinners.

How
can this incomparable God do such a work of amazing grace?It is wrought in the incomparable work of the
Son of God.Jesus Christ our Lord took
upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh, yet was unpolluted by the human form
He dwelt in and the sinful environment He live in.Satan could tempt Him, but not triumph over
Him.Because Jesus bore our sin on Calvary, He paid the price the Righteous One demanded,
even though He was undeserving of that punishment.The fury of God’s wrath was poured out on His
Son that we might become the objects of God’s delight.

God
is not only incomparable in His character, but we see GOD’S INCOMPARABLE
COMPASSION.

“He will again have compassion on us;He will vanquish our iniquities.You will cast all our
sinsinto the depths of the sea.” (Micah
7:19 HCSB)

One
of the fundamental tenets of theology, so concisely expressed in words, yet so
profoundly inexhaustible in wonder is this: “God is love.”(1 John 4:8)To speak of the vastness of God’s compassion is to acknowledge the
inadequacy of human vocabulary and will require all eternity to contemplate and
celebrate this awe-inspiring love.

God
“vanquishes our iniquities”!He covers
our sin, to be sure, but more—He conquers our sinfulness.That which would bar us from heaven, is dealt
with once and for all!

Think
of the beauty of this—God takes our sin and casts it into the ocean depths of
His mercy.Someone has well-said that He
then puts up a sign, “No Fishing!”

An
old Gospel song puts the incomparable compassion of God in these terms:

“Could
we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”

“You will show loyalty to Jacoband faithful love to Abraham,as
You swore to our fathersfrom days long ago.”
(Micah 7:20 HCSB)

It is not possible for God to lie.Not one of His commitments will ever be
forgotten or forsaken.No promise will
fall to the ground as a fluttering sparrow with a broken wing.

There would be times that it would seem
the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be abrogated by.Their sins would be so great, and the
sentence upon them for their sins would be so grave, that it would appear
hopeless.As we read some passages in
Micah, we find the corruption of Israel apparently incurable and
their judgment seemingly irreversible.“As
a result, I have begun to strike you severely,bringing desolation because of your sins.” (Micah 6:13 HCSB)

But as great as their unfaithfulness to
God’s covenant was, God’s faithfulness to His promise was—and is—greater
still!Listen to this testimony:

“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy!Though I have fallen, I will stand up;though I sit in darkness,the
Lord will be my light.Because I have sinned against Him,I must endure the Lord's rageuntil
He argues my caseand establishes justice for me.He will bring me into the light;I will see His salvation.” (Micah 7:8-9 HCSB)

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About Me

I am a mountaineer by birth--a native of Asheville, NC. For a period of ten years I lived in the Charlotte area and for the last eighteen, I have been "home." I was brought up in a Christian family. In fact, I went to church nine months before I was born! Despite the best efforts of parents and preachers, I went astray. The Prodigal Son story that Jesus told in Luke 15 became my story--a sordid life of drugs and booze and that's enough for you to know. But at the age of eighteen all I had been taught came flooding back into my mind when I saw the mess I was in. Christ changed me. I gave my life to Him and as a result have spent the last three decades preaching the Gospel. I'm not all I ought to be and certainly not what I one day shall be, but thankfully, not what I used to be! God has blessed me with a great wife, five wonderful children and so far, twelve grandchildren. To Him be the glory and praise, now and forever.